


Cupcakes and Clumsiness

by internationalcoalitionofcamels



Category: Riverdale (TV 2017)
Genre: Baking, Cupcakes, F/M, Flirting, Fluff, Mutual Pining, Romance, Sexual Tension, Unresolved Romantic Tension
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-01-03
Updated: 2018-01-03
Packaged: 2019-02-27 14:58:56
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,351
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/13250649
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/internationalcoalitionofcamels/pseuds/internationalcoalitionofcamels
Summary: Betty bakes cupcakes for a fundraiser and enlists Jughead's help. Set sometime before season 1 episode 6, or before they get together. Inspired by other baking fics about Betty and Jughead.





	Cupcakes and Clumsiness

Betty never planned to make 200 cupcakes on her one free Saturday afternoon, but here she was, pouring flour into a mixing bowl as she mentally berated herself for biting off more than she could chew. On top of taking advanced classes, cheerleading, writing and editing for the Blue and Gold, and investigating the murder of Jason Blossom, she really didn’t have time to be baking cupcakes for a cancer research fundraiser. She just couldn’t refuse when someone asked for her help.

She sighed as she felt her phone buzz in her pocket, expecting Veronica or Kevin to ask her for something, but she brightened when she saw Jughead’s name on the screen. She and Jughead had grown closer over the past couple weeks as they worked together to uncover the mystery of Jason Blossom’s death and she was coming to rely on him much more than anyone else.

Did you know that Juliet was only 13?

Betty chuckled and quickly responded.

I did in fact

She poured cupcake batter into forms but soon felt another buzz from her pocket.

I just can’t believe Romeo and Juliet is your favorite work of Shakespeare

I know you love it too. You are secretly a hopeless romantic

Yeah right

Betty grinned at his denial and then thought of something.

My parents are at the register all day and I could use your help

With what?

Just come over here

Jughead had been there for her a lot over the past few weeks. He always seemed to be around and so Betty wasn’t surprised when he replied back saying he was on his way. She was a little surprised at the warmth that spread through her chest as she thought of Jughead coming to help her out. She put the first batch of cupcakes in the oven and pushed away the warm feeling that came from thinking about Jughead, insisting that she was just glad to have a friend that was always there for her.

Just as she set a timer on her phone for the cupcakes she heard a rap on the back door and wiped her hands off on her jeans and went to get the door.

“Hey,” Jughead said as she opened the door. He was wearing wool lined denim jacket, a grey sweater, and black jeans, dark hair spilling out of his usual beanie.

“Hey,” she responded,”Come on in.”

“What did you so urgently need my assistance with?” he asked as he followed her into the kitchen.

“I agreed to bake 200 cupcakes for a fundraiser.”

“And what makes you think I’d be good at baking?”

“You’re good at eating,” she laughed.

“True, but unfortunately eating and cooking aren’t the same thing,” he smirked.

“You’re going to help me anyways. Wash your hands,” she ordered him. The kitchen was warm and Jughead shrugged off his jacket and set it on a stool before moving to the sink. Betty pulled out the sugar from the cabinet,

“Have you made cupcakes before?” she asked conversationally.

“Like I said, more into the eating part,” he joked. She knew Jughead’s family wasn’t in the best place, although she didn’t know the details, and supposed that might have something to do with his lack of baking experience. Then again, Jughead didn’t seem like the sprinkles and frosting type.

“There’s a first time for everything,” she smiled. “Can you pour in a cup of sugar?”

She handed him the bag of sugar and their hands brushed, sending a shock through her hand and she looked up. His eyes were strikingly blue. She knew they were blue, but she’d never truly appreciated how blue they were. Jughead gulped and looked down, pulling the bag and his hand from hers.

“Sorry,” he said.

“It’s ok,” she said quietly, shaking off the fluttery feeling in the pit of her stomach. She tightened her ponytail and turned away. 

The warm scent of cake was beginning to waft from the oven. Jughead leaned back and inhaled.

“This must be what heaven is like,” he murmured as he scooped a fingerful of the butter and sugar mixture into his mouth and watched her open the fridge. Betty felt her face go pink, wondering if she was part of his vision of heaven. Of course he was just talking about the cupcakes but she couldn’t help the thought. She was glad she was turned away so he couldn’t see her flushed face.

“Polly and I used to bake all the time,” she reminisced, avoiding her previous thoughts. “We always made vanilla cupcakes and Polly loved to make strawberry cream cheese frosting.”

“I promise you will see her again,” Jughead reassured her.

“I know I will, I just miss her so much. It seems like all I have left of her are some of the most delicious cupcakes ever.”

“That’s where you’re wrong.” She gave him a questioning look.

“She’ll always be in your heart, as cheesy as that sounds.” She could see in his eyes that despite his crossed arms and brooding demeanor he truly cared.“But mainly you’re wrong about vanilla. Chocolate is obviously the greatest flavor known to humanity.”

“Is that so?” she giggled. 

“No flavor could ever surpass chocolate.”

“I thought you liked all cupcakes.”

“Of course I do, it’s just that chocolate is the best flavor.”

“Vanilla is the best because it’s delicious and it goes with everything.”

“And it’s boring,” he added. “Chocolate is rich and dark and much more interesting.”

“Vanilla is delicious and will never let you down,” she retorted.

“Yeah but don’t you like a little mystery in your life?” She laughed.

“You of all people know that I do, but I don’t need it in my sweets too.” At this point she knew the conversation wasn’t about cupcakes anymore.

“Betty Cooper, token good-girl. Most would think you only liked pink, vanilla, and the boy next door,” he pushed her playfully.

“Hey! That was a while ago and I’m not that cliche!”

“I know that, but you definitely have an image and a type.”

“And what is my type?” she crossed her arms across her chest and pouted.

“Unreasonably perfect ginger football players.” Betty groaned.

“I told you, I don’t like Archie anymore. It was a silly childhood crush.”

“What is your type then?” he sounded almost hopeful.

“Us good girls like a bad boy,” she smirked at him.

“Really?” he asked, unconvinced.

“Dark colors and cigarettes are just so hot,” she giggled at the roll of his eyes. 

“I don’t believe you,” he laughed.

“Bad boys are actually really attractive!” she said defensively. “But really my type is someone sweet and caring, who actually sees me. The real me, not the perfect good-girl that everyone else sees me as.”

“You are perfect Betty,” he said quietly, Betty paused as the heat rose in her cheeks, enjoying the moment and how genuine Jughead sounded before handing him a carton of eggs.

“You’ve cracked eggs before, right?” she asked, trying to convince herself that what he said was purely platonic.

“Um… not in a while,” he replied sheepishly. 

“You just tap it on the side of the bowl and pull it apart like this,” she explained and showed him with the first egg. He took the second egg and tapped it against the bowl. Although tapped really wasn’t the word for it. It was more like slammed because the egg split with a load crack and splattered all over his sweater. Betty couldn’t suppress her laugh.

“Are you ok?”

“Yeah, but it’s all over me,” he inspected his soaked sweater.

“You can borrow one of my dad’s old shirts,” she said, but he was already pulling up the hem of the sweater, exposing the surprisingly toned plane of his stomach. Betty’s jaw dropped as he pulled the sweater over his head. Beneath his usual layers he was lean with muscular arms and shoulders. He wasn’t ripped or anything but Betty had never seen anyone look so beautiful without a shirt. She could feel the heat burning in her cheeks as she watched him reach up with his toned arms and adjust his beanie.

“That’s ok, it’s really hot in here anyways.”

“Now it is,” she muttered under her breath.

“What?” he asked since he couldn’t hear her.

“Oh, um, nothing. I’ll just toss these,” she stuttered, grabbing the egg shells. She ducked down to put the egg shells in the compost under the sink, trying to stop the redness spreading across her face and neck.

“Can you mix that?” she asked when she stood up again, gesturing to the bowl.

“Of course,” he said, grabbing the spoon and carefully stirring the eggs into the butter and sugar mixture.

“Thanks. Now we have to add the flour,” she said, spooning flour into the bowl.

“Be careful, flour can be really messy,” she said, not wanting to repeat the egg incident, as he cautiously took the spoon and began mixing ridiculously slowly. Betty watched him for a moment, his lips pursed in concentration and the muscles in his arms taut as he stirred. She tried not to stare at his strong arms or his bare chest or smooth stomach or… she needed to stop. She groaned softly in frustration and Jughead looked up.

“You’re going so slow. At this rate there won’t be cupcakes until Christmas,” she covered.

“You want to have a go?” he offered her the bowl. She ignored the sparks she felt when their hands touched as he passed the bowl. She stirred quickly and efficiently until the flour was fully combined.

“Ok, now we can pour the batter into the tray,” she said as she set the bowl down on the counter and went to dig out the cupcake forms. He helped her place the forms in the tray. “You just scoop the batter into the cups like this,” she showed him. He followed her lead and they worked in comfortable silence as they filled the tray. When they finished Betty peeked in the oven at the first batch of cupcakes.

“They should be done pretty soon and then we can put these in the oven,” she gestured to the tray. Jughead nodded.

“You have some batter on your-” she reached out to wipe off a smear of batter under his left eye. His piercing eyes followed her every movement and Betty felt a jolt of electricity shoot through her.

“Thanks,” he murmured in a low voice and Betty couldn’t help but glance at his soft pink lips.

“No problem,” she replied, taking a step back and willing the fire she felt to extinguish. She was probably imagining everything. Jughead only saw her as a friend and she didn’t want to mess up their friendship with her odd fantasies.

“Now we just have to wait for the first batch and then we can put these in the oven,” she said, hoping she didn’t sound as high pitched as she thought she did.

“How much longer do they have?” he asked.

“Probably just a couple more minutes,” she replied as she looked in the oven. The cupcakes were nearly golden and had risen.

“It smells amazing,” he breathed.

“I thought you only liked chocolate.”

“Like I said, chocolate is the best, but I like anything with sugar,” he quipped. She rolled her eyes.

“You are the least picky person I know.”

“I am nothing if not a hungry growing boy,” he replied defensively. She grinned and leaned back on the counter behind her and her hand slipped. She was sent tumbling forward, colliding with Jughead’s chest and she felt his hands catch her waist. She found herself staring at his collarbone as she felt his very firm, very warm, and might she mention, very bare chest below her fingers. Her eyes travelled up his shoulders, up his neck, past his slightly parted lips, up to rest on his eyes, They were bright blue as always but his pupils were dark and dilated. He held her gaze for the longest few seconds of her life before his eyes flicked down to her lips.

Beep beep beep

They jumped apart as the timer on her phone went off and Betty didn’t even bother trying to suppress the flush that had spread across her face and down her neck.

“The cupcakes are done,” she announced as she grabbed a hot pad and opened the oven. She pulled the tray out and set it on the counter and allowed the thoughts about what had just happened flood her. Jughead had definitely looked at her lips, she hadn’t imagined it, right? She wondered if he would have kissed her if the stupid cupcakes hadn’t interrupted. It felt like it was 100 degrees in the room and Betty peeled off her cardigan so she was just wearing a tank top. Jughead rubbed his neck and adjusted his beanie. Betty put the second batch of cupcakes in the oven and took the frosting she had made earlier out of the fridge. She desperately tried to ignore Jughead and his state of undress which she was now even more hyperaware of than she had been before. Get a grip, she told herself. It’s only Jughead. Jughead, who was caring, sweet, thoughtful, and now apparently very very hot.

The doorbell rang and Jughead raised an eyebrow at her.

“I have no idea who that could be,” Betty said as she went to get the door. Jughead followed her to the door which Betty opened to reveal Veronica Lodge, clad in a tight black dress, pearls around her neck, and a handbag slung over her shoulder.

“Hey B!” she greeted Betty. “I heard you were baking for the fundraiser and thought you could use some help.” Betty smiled, thinking Veronica might act as a buffer between her crazy hormones and Jughead.

“Thanks V! Jughead is already helping me out but you’re welcome to join us,” she gestured behind her to Jughead. Veronica’s perfectly shaped eyebrow arched, presumably at Jughead’s lack of a shirt. 

“That’s ok. I think you’ve got all the help you need.”

**Author's Note:**

> This was the first fanfiction I've ever written and it probably shows, but you've got to start somewhere. I've read a lot of fics about these two and finally decided to write the one I wanted to read, so I hope you enjoyed.


End file.
